After the wave of journalist killings in Honduras in 2010 that prompted President Porfirio Lobo to ask the U.S. FBI for help, so far in 2011 three journalists have been killed. Adán Benítez, veteran host and journalist who worked for more than 16 years in radio and television, was shot to death on his way home in the city of La Ceiba on Monday, July 4, reported La Prensa Gráfica.
According to the police account published in El Heraldo, Benítez was walking on one of the city's main streets when he was intercepted by two individuals who robbed him and then killed him. For now, the suspected motive is robbery, explained Proceso.
However, Revistazo.com said that the previous week, the journalist had reported on a gang that had been breaking into cars.
The death of Benítez makes for 12 journalists killed in Honduras in the past two years, with three journalists killed in 2011. Most of the killings have not been resolved. Since 2003, 20 Honduran journalists have been killed..
The Committee for Free Expression (C-Libre in Spanish) criticized the lack of action from authorities to stop the growing violence in the country since the 2009 coup.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.hon
